Cigarette holder

ABSTRACT

Apparatus to aid the tobacco smoker in overcoming the smoking habit in the form of a cigarette holder arranged to admit ambient air in parallel with the cigarette smoke in response to inhalation suction. The flowpath through the holder includes two smoke storage chambers and a flow restrictor between the two chambers. Air is admitted into the upstream chamber. The downstream chamber is larger than the upstream chamber. The flowpath is arranged so that smoking with the holder results in substantially the same &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;feel&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; in terms of temperature, flow rate and resistance to flow that he experiences when smoking without the filter. Moreover, the structure is arranged to accommodate a withdrawal method in which the size of the air inlet opening is increased from time to time. The device employs a single shank with a series of bodies each with a different size air inlet hole. The holder is dismantled from time to time during the withdrawal course. It is arranged so that the tars are filtered out of the smoke and retained in the holder where they will be visible for psychological effect.

[451 May 14,1974

Thomas 1 CllGARETTE HOLDER [76] Inventor: Leonard L. Thomas, 375 N.W.

Cypress St., Orange, Calif. 92668 [22] Filed: June 16, 1972 Appl. No.:263,513

Primary Examiner-Joseph S. Reich Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Grover A.Frater [5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus to aid the tobacco smoker in overcomingthe smoking habit in the form of a cigarette holder arranged to admitambient air in parallel with the cigarette smoke in response toinhalation suction. The flowpath through the holder includes two smokestorage chambers and a flow restrictor between the two chambers. Air isadmitted into the upstream chamber. The downstream chamber is largerthan the upstream chamber. The flowpath is arranged so that smoking withthe holder results in substantially the same feel in terms oftemperature, flow rate and resistance to flow that he experiences whensmoking without the filter. Moreover, the structure is arranged toaccommodate a withdrawal method in which the size of the air inletopening is increased from time to time. The device employs a singleshank with a series of bodies each with a different size air inlet hole.The holder is dismantled from time to time during the withdrawal course.1t is arranged so that the tars are filtered out of the smoke andretained in the holder where they will be visible for psychologicaleffect.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures /a i z'a 8 5e 30 26 t Z: 62 W I A?! wCIGARETTE HOLDER This invention relates to improvements in smokerappliances and it relates particularly to an improved cigarette andcigar holder. I

. One method for aiding smokers to overcome the smoking hibit involvesintroduction of air into the smoke as the smoker inhales. The proportionof air is increased from time to time so that the smoker inhales lessand less smoke. A number of devices utilizing this principle have beenoffered to the smoker who finds himself unable to stop smoking withoutsome mechanical aid. However, notwithstanding that they are all capableof changing the proportion of air to smoke from a small to a largeproportion, smokers find it easier to quit with some of them than withothers. That difference may be attributed to psychological factors thatattend use of those devices.

It is an object of the invention to provide a smokers appliance of thisclass, in particular a cigarette holder, in which air can be drawn inwith the smoke and which by its construction tends to promote apsychological effect that aids the smoker inhis attempt to overcome thesmoking habit. The invention provides a structure that contributes tothis result in a numberof ways. Thus. the holder is arranged so that itwill retain liquid and solid matter entrained in the smoke that passesthrough it. The construction is such that a disassembly and reassemblyprocess, must be conducted to change the proportion of air that isinhaled with the smokeso that the smoker cannot easily orby simpleadjustment diminish the proportion of air. The construction is such thatthe trapped solids and liquids, generally called tars, are exposed toview when he'goes through the process of changing the proportion ofinlet air both so that he can feed that the device is protecting himfrom inhalation of those tars while presenting him with an abhorentindication of what he may have been inhaling prior to his attempt tostop smoking. In this connection, the preferred form of the inventionuses a transparent or translucent material so that the smoker canobserve the rate atwhich tars are collected whereby he is presentedinformation from which he can gage the quantum of tars in cigarettesmoke by observing the rate at which the holder is befouled. 7

Thus it is that the preferred embodiment is arranged so that the fullmagnitude of the tar problem is presented to the smoker whereby he canfeel that smoking must be deleterious to his health and can believe thatthe apparatus is effective in protecting him and in helping him to breakhis addiction. However, experience has demonstrated that thefaithfulness with which the smoker uses such a device is related to thedegree, particularly at the start of the withdrawal program, in whichthe device simulates the smoking experience to which the useris'accustomed. The likelihood that the smoker will use the apparatus isincreased greatly if the temperature of the gases he inhales and if thepressure at which he inhales them, and if the time delay betweenapplication of suction pressure and the receipt of smoke all simulateclosely what happens when his cigarette or smoked without a holder. Thisrequirement is met by providing appropriate flow restrictors, storagespaces and an appropriate labyrinth in the flowpath through the holder.

The invention has as its object the provision of a structure which meetsthese functional and psychological objectives and which overcomes theproblems and permits manufacture of an effective and inexpensive productof good quality- The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown inthe accompanying drawing. Nonetheless, as will be explained some ofthose features can be omitted without sacrificingcompletely the objectsof the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette holder embodying theinvention and in-which a portion of the cigarette has been inserted;

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal cross-sectional view of the holdershown in FIG. I and shown on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of afragment of the upstream end of one ofthe members of the holder illustratinghow the channel is formed.

The holder 10 shown in the drawings is the preferred embodiment. At oneend it is provided with a bit 12 that the smoker holds in his mouthbetween his teeth At its other end the holder is provided with a recess26. The holder is formed in two sections called the shank and the body,respectively. Thebody 18 is provided with a metallic ring 20 atitsforwardend in which the end of the cigarette is received. It ispermanently fixed to the remainder of the body and is made of metal foraesthetic reasons. The remaining portion of the body is made ofpolypropylene plastic. The preferred form is sufficiently transparent sothat the accumulation of tars within is visible but the preferred formhas an amber or gray cast so that the color of the tars that collectwithin is not materially different from the color of the holder. Theshank 16 is formed in two parts to facilitate manufactureyone is thestem 22 and the other is a plug 24. These elements are best shown inFIG. 2.

Beginning at the right, upstream end of FIG. 2 the holder is recessed at26 to receive the end of a cigarette. That recess is generallycylindrical terminating in a wall portion 28. In the embodiment shownthe interior surface is stepped to three different diameterscorcurrently in popular use. A flat 30 extends across one side at theinner end of the recess. That flat serves two purposes. At its forwardend it serves as a stop to limit the maximum degree of cigaretteinsertion so that a cavity 34 remains after a cigarette has beeninserted. In addition, that flat 30 serves to increase the wallthickness below a cutout or notch 36 formed in the outer wall of thebody 18 as seen in FIG. 2.'A small air inlet hole 38 perforates the bodywall from the bottom of the notch 36 to the face of the flat 30, thebottom and the face of the flat being substantially parallel. That open.ing 38 permits air to be drawn into the holder when the smoker appliesinhalation suction at the bit.

When the holder is in use and a cigarette has been inserted in cavity 26back to the flat 30, inhalation suction at the bit will result indrawing airand smoke into the storage cavity 34 and any part of cavity26 hot occupied by a cigarette. Thereafter, the smoke and air proceedtogether through an opening 40 which forms a part of cavity 34 to smallchannel 44. It flows through the channel to an annular storage cavity46. That storage space is formed by the inner wall 48 at the right endof the body 18 in cooperation with the outside wall of the plug 24 whichis contained in that cavity. The right end of the plug bears against theupstream wall portion 50 of the cavity so that smoke and air is confinedto the channel 44 as it flows from cavity 34 to the storage cavity 46.At the left end of storage cavity 46 the plug 24 has larger diameterthan it does at the right end. The change in diameter is made abrupt sothat a shoulder 54 is formed. The flowpath for air and smoke continuesfrom the storage cavity 46 through a small passageway 56, which leadsfrom the side of the plug near the left end of storage cavity 46 whereplug diameter is increased, to an opening at the left end of the plugwhere it communicates with a large storage chamber 58 formed within thestem 16. The plug is press-fitted into the stem so the communicationbetween the chambers 46 and 58 is afforded only through the passage 56.The chamber 58 tapers down to a relatively narrow passageway to itsopening 62 at the bit end of the device.

Thus, the recess 36 and the air inlet opening 38 and the storage chamber34 form the beginning of a passageway through the holder which isformed, in series, by opening 40, channel 44, storage chamber 46,passageway 56, and chambers 58 including its outlet 62 at the bit.

The metal ring 20 is press-fitted to the body 18 so that they are joinedpermanently. Similarly, the plug 24 is permanently installed bypress-fitting into the stem 22 and is not removable. However, the body18 and the shank 16 are separable and the user is expected to separatethem, both to clean the plug portion of the shank and to replace thebody 18. The complete product includes a shank assembly and a number ofbody assemblies. The several body assemblies are alike except that theair inlet hole 38 has a different diameter in each body. The product issupplied with instructions that suggest to the user that the body bereplaced every several days or every week. At each replacement the bodywith the next larger air hole is attached to the shank and thepreviously used body is disposed. Because ofits effectiveness inremoving tars and nicotine compounds that are solid or liquid in form,the smoker who is accustomed to doing without a filter or has used onlyineffective filters, will experience a changed taste even when no air isadmitted to the holder in parallel with the smoke from the cigarette.Accordingly, in one form of the invention, the air inlet opening isomitted entirely from one of the bodies. The accompanying instructionssuggest that body be used first.

It is important that the diameter of the initial storage chamber or ofthe hole 40 at its outlet be less than the diameter of the plug 24 atthe point where the plug seals off the cavity. This is necessary so thatthe smoke flow will be confined to the channel 44. That channel has asufficiently small cross-sectional area so that it offers a degree ofresistance to flow roughly corresponding to the decrease in resistanceto inhalation suction occasioned by the addition of the air hole 38. Theactual resistance is not critical because the smoker is accustomed to awide range of inhalation resistances as the cigarette changes in lengthwhile being smoked. Nonetheless, some resistance is required and it isprovided by the opposition to flow through channel 44. That channel canhave various forms. In one series of models it is formed as a recesswhich has semicircular cross-section. The diameter of the section canhave any value from twenty-eight to forty-five thousandths of an inchwith thirty-nine thousandths being taken as the apparent optimum size.In those models the radius of the plug exceeds the radius of the opening40 of chamber 34 by about twenty thousandths of an inch. That dimensionremains substantially the same for all of the bodies of a set. Statedanother way, flow resistance through the channel remains uniformnotwithstanding that air inlet opening size changes.

Having passed through the channel, the smoke is introduced to an annularcavity. The outer diameter of the plug is stepped so that at itsupstream end that annular cavity has greater cross-sectional area thanit does at its downstream end. For convenience, the cavity is treated asthough it was two cavities arranged side by side in series. The first ofthes cavities, the one with the larger cross-sectional area, is longerthan the other. In the preferred form of the invention, the step changein diameter is made abrupt so that a substantially square shoulder isformed. The channel 44 extends radially in the end surface of the plug.The outlet passage opens at the base of the plug at its downstream,larger diameter end. For whatever reason, this construction is effectivein separating out the solids and liquid constituents of the smoke sothat most are deposited on the surface of the plug primarily on theportion of reduced diameter and in the region of the step change indiameter. It appears to make no difference whether the flowpath 56 isformed by drilling as shown or is formed simply as a notch extendingfrom the rear wall of the plug to the surface of the plug at the smalldiameter section of the chamber. The passageway 56 offers sufficientlylow resistance to flow so that it can be considered to be part ofchamber 58 which constitutes a relatively large volume smoke space.Nonetheless, the fact that that passageway provides a definite exitpoint for smoke from the annular area 46 appears to result in a smokeflow pattern such that the tars are deposited on the plug in far greaterdegree than they are deposited on the inside wall of the holder body.The result is that the smoker can observe the build-up tar. He ispresented with a smelly and unsightly experience when he separates thebody from the shank. At the same time, cleaning is facilitated becausemost of the tars cling to the exterior surface of the plug and there isvery little accumulation of tar in passageway 56 and chamber 58. Thebody can be cleaned if desired but the recommended procedure includesthrowing the body away and replacing it with the body having the nextlarger size air openmg.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of myinvention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof arepossible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted exceptinsofar as is necessitated by the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a cigarette holder of the kind that has an exit opening at oneend, and that has a cigarette recess at its opposite end in which theend of a cigarette may be inserted, and whose interior walls define apassageway for smoke from the cigarette recess to the exit opening, theimprovement in which said passageway comprises, in series from saidcigarette recess to said exit opening, means defining a smoke storagecavity, means defining a transverse channel, means defining an annularsmoke storage cavity having an inner wall, and means defining an openingin said inner wall of said annular cavity means which communicates withsaid exit opening, said channel means extending from one point of saidsmoke storage chamber transversely to and into said annular cavitymeans;

said holder further comprising means providing an air inlet extendingthrough said holder from its exterior to said flowpath at a pointupstream from said channel means.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 in which said holder comprises atleast two separable subassemblies, a first one of said subassembliesbeing substantially cylindrical and having said cigarette recess formedaxially in one end and having means providing a second recess formedaxially in its opposite end, and having an axial opening extendingbetween them and communicating with them;

a second one of said separable sections comprising a shank having anoutlet opening at one end and a plug at the other, the plug beingpositioned in said recess means of the first subassembly with its end inabutment with an end wall of said recess means and covering said axialopening, said channel means being formed in said end of said plugwhereby smoke flowing through the holder is confined to flow throughsaid channel means;

the portion of said first one of said subassemblies in exterior surfaceof the plug.

1. In a cigarette holder of the kind that has an exit opening at oneend, and that has a cigarette recess at its opposite end in which theend of a cigarette may be inserted, and whose interior walls define apassageway for smoke from the cigarette recess to the exit opening, theimprovement in which said passageway comprises, in series from saidcigarette recess to said exit opening, means defining a smoke storagecavity, means defining a transverse channel, means defining an annularsmoke storage cavity having an inner wall, and means defining an openingin said inner wall of said annular cavity means which communicates withsaid exit opening, said channel means extending from one point of saidsmoke storage chamber transversely to and into said annular cavitymeans; said holder further comprising means providing an air inletextending through said holder from its exterior to said flowpath at apoint upstream from said channel means.
 2. The invention defined inclaim 1 in which said holder comprises at least two separablesubassemblies, a first one of said subassemblies being substantiallycylindrical and having said cigarette recess formed axially in one endand having means providing a second recess formed axially in itsopposite end, and having an axial opening extending between them andcommunicating with them; a second one of said separable sectionscomprising a shank having an outlet opening at one end and a plug at theother, the plug being positioned in said recess means of the firstsubassembly with its end in abutment with an end wall of said recessmeans and covering said axial opening, said channel means being formedin said end of said plug whereby smoke flowing through the holder isconfined to flow through said channel means; the portion of said firstone of said subassemblies in which said recess means is formed beingmade of a transparent material sufficiently transparent to make visible,from the exterior of said holder, tars collected on the surface of saidplug.
 3. The invention defined in claim 2 in which said plug has, over afirst portion of its length from said one end, a diameter less than thediameter over an adjacent portion of its length, whereby a shoulder isformed on the exterior surface of the plug.